Article 3, Volume 3 February 9, 2013
" Many Thousand Gone"
The play, "Many Thousand Gone" was presented at Mt Pleasant Baptist on February 3, 2013 in the afternoon before an estimated audience of 150. The play was written by the late Sister Effie Harris, a member of Mt. Pleasant Baptist. The presentation on Sunday was under the direction of Sister Aaronita Brown.
She started working on assembling the cast about a year ago and rehearsals started in the Spring of 2012. The cast members came from several churches in the area. (**see cast members below).
The play included several Negro Spirituals, such as, "Hold on to that Dream", "Somewhere around God's Thorn" and "One More River to Cross".
The play was entertaining and amusing at times, but yet filled with the truth about the suffering and roads, we, as Black people, trod to get to where we are today. Sometimes it is difficult for modern day Black folks to understand that the slaves of yesterday were people just like us today. They had ambitions and dreams of one day being free and able to come and go at their own will and raise their own families without the fear of their children and spouses being sold to another slave owner. They worked hard, prayed, and worshipped God. Although, it was probably difficult for them to understand how come they were enslaved.
But they found hope for a brighter tomorrow, when they were allowed to go to the Master's church, and hear stories from the Old Testament about Moses and the Hebrew children and then listen to sermons and testimonies about Jesus and his many powers. This exposure was good, even though they couldn't read, they could listen and go back to the plantation and spread the word.
The slaves cried many nights after finding something to laugh about during the day.The tracks of their tears was often evidence that many of them were troubled about something. But through conversation with trusted friends and their belief in God -the God they had heard the White folks talking about at the church - they learned to hold back the tears and continue to look forward to that day when freedom would be theirs.
Through songs and skits we were able to sense how the slaves and disadvantaged felt and feel today.
Many thousand are gone who never personally realized what it is like to be free, but those of us who are their descendants are responsible for keeping their dreams and hopes alive by living and doing what we can to make the world a better place for generations to come.
In summary, it was a wonderful play, and the time devoted to witness the presentation was well spent.
**The cast members of "Many Thousand Gone" were:
1. Aaronita Brown Director
2. Cynthia Gordon Narrator
3. Conrad Hawkins Pianist
4. Lawrence Bradby
5. Debbie Broadnax
6. Reginia Crawley
7. Barbara Daggs
8. David Evans
9. Annie Finney
10. Pat Finney
11. William Gordon
12. Mary Ingleton
13. Jeanette Lewis
14. Corrine Mansfield
15. Lucy O'Dell
16. Don Poledor
17. Dorothy Preston
18. Katherine Rucker
Note: "Unedited edition"
" Many Thousand Gone"
The play, "Many Thousand Gone" was presented at Mt Pleasant Baptist on February 3, 2013 in the afternoon before an estimated audience of 150. The play was written by the late Sister Effie Harris, a member of Mt. Pleasant Baptist. The presentation on Sunday was under the direction of Sister Aaronita Brown.
She started working on assembling the cast about a year ago and rehearsals started in the Spring of 2012. The cast members came from several churches in the area. (**see cast members below).
The play included several Negro Spirituals, such as, "Hold on to that Dream", "Somewhere around God's Thorn" and "One More River to Cross".
The play was entertaining and amusing at times, but yet filled with the truth about the suffering and roads, we, as Black people, trod to get to where we are today. Sometimes it is difficult for modern day Black folks to understand that the slaves of yesterday were people just like us today. They had ambitions and dreams of one day being free and able to come and go at their own will and raise their own families without the fear of their children and spouses being sold to another slave owner. They worked hard, prayed, and worshipped God. Although, it was probably difficult for them to understand how come they were enslaved.
But they found hope for a brighter tomorrow, when they were allowed to go to the Master's church, and hear stories from the Old Testament about Moses and the Hebrew children and then listen to sermons and testimonies about Jesus and his many powers. This exposure was good, even though they couldn't read, they could listen and go back to the plantation and spread the word.
The slaves cried many nights after finding something to laugh about during the day.The tracks of their tears was often evidence that many of them were troubled about something. But through conversation with trusted friends and their belief in God -the God they had heard the White folks talking about at the church - they learned to hold back the tears and continue to look forward to that day when freedom would be theirs.
Through songs and skits we were able to sense how the slaves and disadvantaged felt and feel today.
Many thousand are gone who never personally realized what it is like to be free, but those of us who are their descendants are responsible for keeping their dreams and hopes alive by living and doing what we can to make the world a better place for generations to come.
In summary, it was a wonderful play, and the time devoted to witness the presentation was well spent.
**The cast members of "Many Thousand Gone" were:
1. Aaronita Brown Director
2. Cynthia Gordon Narrator
3. Conrad Hawkins Pianist
4. Lawrence Bradby
5. Debbie Broadnax
6. Reginia Crawley
7. Barbara Daggs
8. David Evans
9. Annie Finney
10. Pat Finney
11. William Gordon
12. Mary Ingleton
13. Jeanette Lewis
14. Corrine Mansfield
15. Lucy O'Dell
16. Don Poledor
17. Dorothy Preston
18. Katherine Rucker
Note: "Unedited edition"
Disclaimer: The news and views expressed on the site are strictly those of Grady Bryant,accumulated from information made available to the general public through bulletins, public events, announcements and services that was open to the general public. This is not an official endorsed Warner Baptist Church website.
